I figured why not start off 2020 by showing my ass to the internet? New year, new unabashed public posting of my bits. #VulnberablePostAhead

I said I’d write more in this space and I figured this would be a good one to start with. I’m going to put my big, batshit crazy goal out there. If I fail, I will fail spectacularly.

At the end of 2019 I was feeling mostly ho-hum about running and triathlon. I had a solid 70.3 in October, and yet I wasn’t really dying to do any races in 2020. Thus, I decided I’d try something completely new but something I’d always wanted to do. (You can ask Nick, I mentioned wanting to do this for years!) I put it off year after year because there was always a race I wanted to conquer or a PR I was chasing. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got PRs to chase, I just put them on hold. My main reason for doing this is simply to see if I can. There’s not a lot more to it than that. Can I do this?

I decided that in 2020 I would attempt a bikini (bodybuilding) competition. I knew it would be difficult – especially the part where I stop eating french fries and donuts on the regular. I am clearly a food lover. And… it was clearly showing up more and more every year in my weight. Ha! I knew this goal would help with that, but it would also help show my athletes that weight loss is possible. Since I’m no dummy, I hired a coach. I had no idea how to do this, and it’s been really exciting to learn more about this very foreign-to-me territory.

Through the referral of a friend, I started working with Coach Erika (E-Rock) of Optimum Bikini. We began back in November by doing a full body composition assessment. I swear that body fat percentage number on the digital scale just kept going up and up. It just kept on climbing for what felt like an eternity! After we had my numbers and discussed my goals (one competition!) Erika sent me on my way with my first four weeks meal and workout plan. My running was cut to a measly 20 minutes, three times per week! *Readers Gasp* So….yeah, that was a big adjustment. I asked her if I could go for long, easy rides and was answered with a big, fat no. The reason is that too much cardio can hurt with muscle growth. (More on that later.)

Essentially, every four weeks, Erika reviews my weight and weekly results photos and adjusts my meal and workout plan. We are at 2 months and I’m down nine pounds and a whopping 7% body fat! My clothes, which were getting tight, feel SO much better and some of them are even too baggy to wear. I’m lifting weights six days per week and since I started at basic-weak-ass-bitch mode, I’ve been able to really see improvements in strength. I’ve gone from a (maybe pushing an eight soon) size six to a fuck yeah size four in about 12 weeks.

Top Row is Before (November 1) Bottom Row is After (January 10)

They key to ALL of this has been consistency. Every. Damn. Day. There’s no eat McDonald’s one day and then get back on it the next. It’s been all about clean eating for about 95% of the time. I did take one day in Las Vegas during the holiday where I lost my mind a bit at a breakfast buffet. Oops.

Sure the meal plan isn’t the most fun thing I’ve ever done, but honestly, it’s not too bad. (I don’t recommend starting this right during the holidays like I did!) I know it’ll become harder the closer I get to a competition. The weight I’m at right now is sustainable and I think looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. I miss running but my cardio was increased to 25 minutes for three days, so there’s that. (Not enough cardio can affect your muscle growth too so it’s all about finding a balance for your goal.)

It’s looking like I can be ready for a competition by May. I was hoping for sooner, but Erika thinks it would be unsafe to try to be ready by then. I really appreciate that because I know I won’t have to do anything drastic. The gradual process of adjusting every four weeks has been very nice. I am super happy with her as a coach and feel that we are doing this safely and sanely.

I start posing practice with her next week, and I will go ahead and thank my mom for those years I did beauty pageants. Yep. Yours truly did beauty pageants as a tween. I try to forget those days, and yet here we are. I’ll be drawing on those memories to walk in heels while smiling. And, saying I want world peace. Hee hee….

I am still coaching running and triathlon. I have no plans to leave the sport completely – ever! I can’t wait to run a marathon again. I can’t wait to swim and swim and swim. I just had some business to attend to with a sparkly bikini and a very, um, dark tan.

Feel free to drop me any questions you have in the comments. I’ll keep you all posted on this journey.